Wakefield draws No. 3 Wayland (5-1) in D4N quarterfinals
By DAN PAWLOWSKI
WILMINGTON — In this case, saying the Wakefield High football team was locked in from the opening kickoff is not hyperbole.
Dan Hurley booted a long drive to kick off the game on Friday night and the Warriors covered well. After starting their first drive at the 16, Wilmington went a quick three-and-out, Wakefield caught a fair catch on the ensuing punt at the Wilmington 46 and sophomore running back Aidan Sweeney capped a six-play, three-minute opening drive with a 5-yard touchdown run.
“A lot people wonder why that guy down in Foxborough chooses to defer,” said Wakefield head coach John Rafferty. “The thought process is if you can get good coverage on a deep kickoff and force a punt in their own territory then you’re off to a good start. We were really happy with our kickoff team.”
Wakefield rushed for 334 yards on their way to a convincing 35-14 road win that earned them a 4-3 regular season record, the No. 6 seed in the Div. 4 North tournament and a matchup with No. 3 Wayland (5-1) to be played at Weston High on
Saturday at 3 p.m.
“Overall, the kids did a great job,” said Rafferty. “The offense really clicked and we did a good job of controlling and moving the ball.”
Wakefield had enough highlight-reel plays in this one for their own Sportscenter Top 10 segment.
Sweeney’s second score, a 13-yard run to make it 28-7 early in the 4th quarter, was just a prelude to a 50-yard run for his third TD of the day.
It was the second longest rushing touchdown of the night.
Junior Tucker Stikeman had the first, his 60-yard scamper up the left sideline giving Wakefield a 21-7 lead. That came after he made it 14-7 on a 38-yard run in the second quarter.
While Stikeman (11/137 2 TD’s) and Sweeney (11/107, 3 TD’s) did most of the damage, rushing for a combined 244 yards and five touchdowns, Hurley (5/27) and sophomore Leo Yardumian (7/63) also found their space thanks to a complete effort from the offensive line who put together their most dominant performance of the season.
“We had a number of people have success carrying the ball because our offensive line was working in concert. They did a great job as a unit,” said Rafferty.
Freshmen Ian Dixon and Phil D’Alleva locked down the left side, center and captain Anthony DeVito and fellow senior Jake Sowyrda at right guard did a nice job in the interior and sophomore Sharieff Andrews was solid in some of his first action of the season as a tackle. Captain Liam Cosgrove spent some time as a tight end/extended tackle according to Rafferty. That gave the Warriors a more dynamic look with their best blocker.
The first quarter ended 7-0 but Wilmington evened it up early in the second after a 7-yard slant from Joe McCauley to Christian Robarge.
The Warriors once again had a strong day defending the run as the Wildcats rushed for 125 yards on 26 totes, with the majority coming on a 58-yard scramble by Robarge late in the 4th.
That front will need to be strong again to stop Wayland’s Jaison Tucker who had five rushing touchdowns, accounting for 182 yards on just his scoring plays as the Dual County Warriors beat Lincoln-Sudbury 45-8 on Saturday.
But Wakefield will need to improve this week in their inexperienced secondary as McCauley and Robarge went a combined 18/28 for 267 yards through the air.
“Defensively, I thought we were really good against the run but we’re still working on defending the pass,” said Rafferty.
The Warriors got a key stop in the second quarter with a 14-7 lead. Hurley, who was all over the field from his linebacker spot with eight tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble, made a stop in the backfield on Wilmington’s first play of the drive starting at the Wildcat 43.
Senior Eli Gosselin-Smoske later got to the sideline on an outside run to force a 4th-and-4 and the Warrior defense tackled well on the next passing play of just two yards as they took over.
Stikeman was caught in the backfield for negative yardage on Wakefield’s first play of their next drive from their own 44, but Wakefield gave it right back to him for his 60-yard TD run that gave them a commanding 21-7 lead.
McCauley connected with Robarge on two huge passing plays and Wilmington got it down to the 4-yard line with four seconds left in the half. Sophomore Bryan Lynch made a touchdown-saving stop, dragging Robarge down by the jersey. Robarge couldn’t hold on to a touchdown catch on the next play as Wakefield went into the break with a two-score lead.
The Wildcats opened the second half with an onside recovery and marched into the red zone but the Warriors came up with a huge fumble recovery as Hurley was in the mix and senior Taaj Andrews recovered. Andrews also had a sack earlier in the drive.
Staring at their own 20, Wakefield rolled out a methodic, 12-play, 80-yard scoring drive that Sweeney finished with a 13-yard run to make it 28-7 with 11:23 left.
Robarge’s 58-yard carry set up a 1-yard TD plunge from Bailey Smith but Sweeney finished this one with a bang, his 50-yard touchdown on Wakefield’s next possession making it 35-14.
There were plenty of stars to choose from in this game – picking one is no easy task; but Hurley was especially impressive. His instincts at linebacker and burst through the offensive line was a gamechanger alone. Add in his powerful lead blocking as a fullback, his 27 rushing yards on five carries and not to mention perfect point-after kicks on all five touchdowns and his deep drives on kickoffs and the junior was most definitely a key component in all three phases to the team win.
“It all starts with him on the kickoff,” said Rafferty of Hurley. “Then he’s automatic on PAT’s, always blocking well offensively and ready when we want to give him the ball, but he’s really best on defense. He just tackles so well.”
The Warriors will have their work cut out for them on Saturday against a dynamic and powerful Wayland team, but it was quite the way to end a regular season.
The winner of the Wakefield-Wayland matchup will play the winner of No. 2 Revere vs. No. 7 Dracut in the semifinals.